Ely, MN: August, 2021 Continued from Minnesota Redux: The Sunset and the Shallows The activities in far north Minnesota in the summer revolve around either woods or water, and given the temperature, we spent the afternoons with the latter. The lodge fee includes rentals on non-motorized watercraft: paddleboards, kayaks, canoes, and something called an aqua-cycle. WhenContinue reading “Minnesota Redux: The Run and the Flames”
Tag Archives: running
Carmel Half Marathon: On the American Super-Suburb and a Return to Running Normalcy
Carmel, IN: April, 2021 I had a difficult time describing Carmel, Indiana over the phone. I sat on a bench made to look like a book open to the first page of Little Orphan Annie in front of a Free Library housed in a fire red London phone booth talking to Lauren as she deplanedContinue reading “Carmel Half Marathon: On the American Super-Suburb and a Return to Running Normalcy”
The Manchester Road Race: A 4.748 Mile Thanksgiving Parade
Manchester, CT: November, 2017 Unlike further inland, the trees of the coastal northeast retain their leaves a bit later – the crunchy, half-shriveled ones that look as if they were photographed in sepia tone and make a scrape when they finally fall onto the pavement and blow across serpentine Connecticut lanes between century old stoneContinue reading “The Manchester Road Race: A 4.748 Mile Thanksgiving Parade”
A Storm at Sea and a Snake in the Tree: A Race around Clearwater
Clearwater, FL: May, 2019 Uncle Gabe lived with his greyhound rescue, Archie, in northern St. Petersburg, toward the back of a mid-century block pleasantly shaded by gargantuan oaks. It’s a testament to these trees that they survived the post-air conditioning sprawl that created this and other areas of its age. The neighborhood also held ontoContinue reading “A Storm at Sea and a Snake in the Tree: A Race around Clearwater”
Lost Shoes, Gained Perspective: Two Columbus Marathon Stories
Columbus, OH: October 2014/October 2019 The morning of my first attempt at the Columbus Marathon, I woke on Derek’s couch at five AM and immediately began slinking around trying not to make much noise, a difficult ordeal in the dark even with the foresight of attaching the bib to my shirt the night prior. ChompingContinue reading “Lost Shoes, Gained Perspective: Two Columbus Marathon Stories”
Bourbon Chase Pt 3: Sunrise with the Horses
Lexington, KY: October, 2018 (This post is a continuation of this one and this one) “I have a problem” Alonso said as we packed the van by flashlight, breathing out misty rings like a smoker’s exhale. The temperature had dropped with the rain and the early morning was biting cold but at least dry. “IContinue reading “Bourbon Chase Pt 3: Sunrise with the Horses”
Bourbon Chase Pt. 2: Midnight in Danville
Danville, KY: October, 2018 (Part one, in which we stay in the worst hotel ever and then run through three distilleries, is here) (Part three, AKA the finale, in which we run in the dark some more and then eat a lot, is here) Danville High School students do not have school on the FridayContinue reading “Bourbon Chase Pt. 2: Midnight in Danville”
Bourbon Chase Pt. 1: Making Our Mark
Bardstown, KY: October, 2018 (Part two, in which we run at midnight in the rain and then sleep on a gym floor, is here) I crested the last hill onto the main drive into the distillery after running seven miles along a thin thread of asphalt through rolling horse farms, separated from me by hedgerowsContinue reading “Bourbon Chase Pt. 1: Making Our Mark”
Strychnine and Soulard: The Go! St. Louis Half Marathon
St. Louis, MO: April, 2018 The Metrolink was as efficient early Sunday morning as it was throughout the weekend. The last station before crossing the river was steps from the starting line and allowed us to arrive fairly close to the beginning of the race to avoid getting too cold, the temperature below thirty asContinue reading “Strychnine and Soulard: The Go! St. Louis Half Marathon”
Semi-Local Beer and a Psychedelic Jungle Gym: St. Louis by Night
St. Louis, MO: April, 2018 (Continued from here, St. Louis Half Marathon race report here) There is a large European-owned brewery in one corner of what used to be a bit of a company town. The name Busch on half of the city notwithstanding, the corporate beer centric economy of the city’s twentieth century leftContinue reading “Semi-Local Beer and a Psychedelic Jungle Gym: St. Louis by Night”
Hug, The Traveler* 